Who Can We Trust?

“And Rab-shekah said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?…But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that He, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?”  II Kings 18:19,22

Hezekiah was one of the last kings of the southern kingdom of Judah.  The nation of Assyria was threatening to wage war on Jerusalem.  Sennacherib, Assyria’s king, sent a delegation to Hezekiah in an effort to intimidate him and the people of Judah into surrendering without a fight.  Hezekiah had already given Sennacherib all the gold and silver from the temple and from the king’s residence.  (As a side note, appeasement never works.)  It was a fact that Assyria’s army was much more powerful than that of Judah, and they had already taken many of the cities of Judah, but not Jerusalem.  That was the piece de resistance.  Whoever possessed Jerusalem would rule the world or so the heathen nations likely believed.  However, Jerusalem was the city of David, the place where God had placed His name, and He would not allow His city to be ruled by one of Israel’s enemies.

From II Chronicles 32:1-8, we find that Hezekiah had built up his army and called for a city-wide meeting to encourage the people by assuring them that they could defend Jerusalem.  He reminded them that God was with Judah and not Assyria.  The people rallied behind Hezekiah and prepared for war.  When Sennacherib’s delegation arrived, Hezekiah sent out three of his administrative leaders to meet with them and did not go with his men.  Assyria’s spokesman, Rab-shekah, spoke loudly, likely because Hezekiah’s residence was nearby within hearing distance.  Rab-shekah reminded Hezekiah that as Judah’s king, he had destroyed the high places and altars of idol worship.  Because this Assyrian general had no knowledge of the one true God, he assumed that Judah’s God was like the gods of the other nations, and would become angry at the destruction of those idols and images.  He also assumed that God would be angry at Hezekiah’s requirement for all Israel to worship at Jerusalem when just the opposite was true.  (Another side note:  assuming something can get us into trouble sometimes.)  Rab-shekah is a good example of folks who do not know the truth of God’s word yet assume that they know God and His ways.

This message from the king of Assyria was not just to Hezekiah and his administration, but to all the people of Judah.  If the people chose to fight, then conditions would become so dire that the people would have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine.  That was quite a threat which was meant to frighten and intimidate the people into giving up and surrendering peacefully to Assyria.  Fear is an effective way to control others.  People will give up freedom for security and safety, however the security and safety that is received in exchange for their freedoms rarely provide the comfort and peace that folks treasure.  The usual result is that of not only less freedom, but less security and safety.  Rab-shekah then warned the people not to allow Hezekiah to compel them to trust in the LORD God.  He basically told them to not believe Hezekiah’s promise of God’s deliverance.

Fast forward to today.  This COVID-19 pandemic has certainly taken its toll, not only on lives, but livelihoods, causing much distress among so many.  I would say that it isn’t as bad as Rab-shekah foretold to the people of Judah concerning their dire situation, but the pandemic has nevertheless been quite disruptive and frightening.  The question is, who can we trust?  The authorities keep changing what they say about the coronavirus, the statistics keep being revised, up and down, up and down, and most people are fed up with social distancing and the orders to stay at home.  We all just need to be smart about getting out into the public, but most of all, we must trust God in this situation as in all situations.  He didn’t allow Sennacherib and Assyria to set one foot inside Jerusalem nor even shoot one arrow into the city (II Kings 19:32-33).  However this pandemic turns out, God is still in control, and He knows how to deal with our greatest challenges.  There is a purpose in all that God does.